I've got a theory that has been nagging me for the past few months which I'm trying to disprove but instead keeps getting reinforced. The gist of it is that the past few Patch Tuesdays need a double-restart for Boinc or even the PC to start behaving again.

Before doing any updates, I shut down BOINC. I run Windows 7 64-bit and have no idea if BOINC taps services already running. In thinking, when I do any updates for any application I shut down any "background" tasks running. Installed the 1 update from this past Tuesday and only had to restart once.

I set all my crunchers to "download but let me choose to install" that way I can control if/when it does updates. I normally don't install any of the optional or recommended updates. When I allow it to install I also make sure BOINC has shut down first. You never know with MS updates if they will require a reboot or not.

Lastly never install video drivers from MS, always get them from your card manufacturer (eg EVGA) or the AMD/Nvidia sites. I usually go direct to the Nvidia site.BOINC blog

I don't have problems with any of my computers themselves needing a double restart, but my i7/Win7 box does need to have Boinc stopped and restarted twice after the computer restarts. When it first comes up, it can't find the GPU. Then it can't connect to localhost. Third time is the charm (usually).

My Vista laptop has a problem with audio: when it restarts, I get no sound until I put it in standby and wake it up again. But that one doesn't do Boinc.DavidSitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.